37 deaths by suspected suicides – HSE memo
By Maurice Garvey
THERE were up to 37 deaths by suspected suicide in Dublin South-Central in 2017 and 50 per cent of those were women – affecting areas in Ballyfermot, Clondalkin and Tallaght, according to a leaked HSE memo.
In August, The Echo reported how suicide rates were at chronic levels in Cherry Orchard.
At the time, there was four suicides in a six weeks period, including three local young mothers.
This led to a march on City Hall, organised by local woman Lisa Palmer, who gathered 1,200 signatures calling for the establishment of a 24/7 clinic in Cherry Orchard to offer crisis intervention.
An internal memo, seen by The Irish Times, to HSE psychiatric teams in Dublin South-Central community healthcare organisation CHO said there is “a new profile of women dying by suicide (early 20s to mid 30s)”.
People Before Profit TD Brid Smith, who joined the vigil with residents last December – a joint intiaitve with residents in the Liberties, said the figures for suicide rates among young mothers in Ballyfermot, Clondalkin and Tallaght are bitter fruits of successive Government policies.
“Lone parents have been consistently targeted for cuts in payments and benefits over the years of austerity and vulnerable groups like these have never been a priority for Governments. During the crash, supports that affected them and their children were seen as “the low hanging fruit” to be cut. Now during the recovery, critical services are still underfunded and under-resourced.
“The shocking truth is that mental health services have been continuously under threat. For example, the number of beds in the Camhs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health services) in Cherry Orchard was cut in half last summer.
“Meanwhile, many families in the areas are facing eviction or living in unsuitable, often overcrowded accommodation. The level of mental distress this is causing is enormous and young mothers are at the sharp end of that distress.”
The most recent national suicide data for 2016, reveal there was 81 female suicides in the Republic of Ireland.
